Horseshoe-nail



(No Model.) f

A'. R. MUTERSPAUGH.

Y 'HURSBSHOE NAIL. No. 378.935. Patented Mar. 6, 1888.

Wilnessers: /m/nom narcw Murspaug Arg. Y

Aing through the shell.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREW R. MUTERSPAUGH, VOF SHEPHERD, MICHIGAN.

HORSESHOE-NAIL.

SPECIFICATION forming part oli' Letters Patent No. 378,935, dated March 6, 1888.

v Application tiled July 11, 1887. Serial No. 243,921. v(No model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW R. MUTER- sPAUGH, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Shepherd, in the county of Isabellaand State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Horseshoe- Nails, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in horseshoe-nails.

The horseshoenail in common use is constructed with what is termed a straight and a beveled side, and is surmounted by a head which is, in substance, merely an exaggeration or enlargement of the body of the nail. This leaves the nail-head without shoulders, other than the inclined edges and face which connect such -head with the body or shank of the nail. In driving such nails they are driven with the straight side out, and they invariably, take more or less of a direction toward the inner or soft portion of the hoof before com- Upon being set and clinched, the taper head is driven into the holes with considerable force in order to closely set the shoe, a still greater bend being made in the body of the nail. The horse, walking upon the projecting heads, forces their tapering portions still farther into the holes, and in a very short time they become so worn that the shoe is loose. The beveled face of the head of the nail is driven bearing against the straight side of the crease, and has a tendency to force the head outwardly, and thus causing the body of the nail to still further deflect toward the soft part of the hoof, while at the vsame time, and more particularly at the heel, the hoof is contracted,

to the injury and discomfort ofthe animal.

The object of my invention is to construct a nail the use of which will obviate these obl jections; and to that end the invention con sists in the peculiar construction of the nail, all as more fully hereinafter set forth.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved nail. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the nail in common use. Fig. 8 isa sectional elevation, showing the relative directions' or positions of the nails shown in Figs. l and 2 merely inserted through the holes in a horseshoe. Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional views of a hoof upon which a shoe has been secured by the nails above referred to respectively.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, A represents a horseshoe-nail such as in common use, and which is provided with the head a, bevel or tapering upon one side and its two edges, and with the point of the nail beveled upon the corresponding side of the bevel head. The employment of a nail of this character produces the ill e'ects hereinbefore mentioned.

B represents my improved nail, the point of which is beveled from the straight side of the body, or upon the side opposite the bevel of the head b. This head isA providedwith the rightangle shoulders c, projecting from the edges of the nail, and these shoulders are rounded and join the bevel face of the head, as shown. Y

In practice a nail of this description is driven through the holes in the shoe, with the straight side toward the hoof and against the vertical wall of the crease. This allows the nail to take the course through the shoe, substantially as shown in Fig. 4, but aslight bend, if any, being made in the body of the nail, even after it has been set and clinched. The shoulders c have a solid bearing in the bottom of the crease. The bevel face fitting the bevel of the crease, the head cannot be driven farther into the hole, andl therefore it is not liable to become slack and thus loosen the shoe. Again, it is not necessary to drive this nail so hard as the common nail, and all liability of pinching the top of the hoof is entirely avoided,and the effect is to have a tendency to spread the hoof at the heel rather than to contract it.

What I claim as my invention isl. A horseshoe-nail provided with a shouldered head, said shoulders being rounded to meet the bevel of the head, and a point beveled from the straight side of the body of the nail, substantially as described.

2. A horseshoe-nail consisting of the head b, provided with the rounded shoulders c, and having its point beveled from the straight side, or upon the side opposite to the bevel of the head, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 27th day of June, 1887.

Witnesses:

A. A. LANCE, OHAs. OAssADY. 

